• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.31
• /
• pp.117-152
• /
• 2013

is a comics that the original Yoshokawa Eiji's novel . Since the series started in 1998, it's epic that records the 54 million or more copies of the cumulative sales volume to 1.7 million unit volume average in the book, 34 are currently up to volume has been published. proceeds with narratives in a way of following naturally the personality of a character based on the rule of an author, which is 'people should be described as what they are'. Accordingly it features very unique characterizing. This study focused on the fact that numerous characters in maintain a structural balance through the establishment of a character composition in an antipodal relationship although those characters have strong personalities. In order to analyze the relationship of such characters, the study utilized as an analytic frame MBTI personality types theory which is a psychology test tool. First, the study inferred personality patterns as the temperamental characteristics of MBTI, and tried to analyze the antipodal character composition based on the combination of cognition and judgment which are assumably the most important functions. From this, the study was able to discover the following three structures applied to those characters. (1) The antipodism between Musasi, the main character and Kojiro, a mirror character becomes central to the work, (2) The antipodal relationship between their fosterers and the character playing the mentor's role extends the character attribute of Musasi and Kojiro. (3) The Yoshioka family was also established in the antipodal composition as a role of exchanging influences with Musasi and Kojiro. Through this, the study reached a conclusion that in the pairs of characters in contrast were established as if to reach a dialectic synthesis. As such, the antipodal structuralization of the character composition shown in is deemed to differentiate the inner sides of numerous unique characters; thereby make it possible to describe their inner sides in-depth. Finally, the following common context is found: works in the field of successful comics and animation in terms of criticism and performance are focused on characters. It is probably because their consumers are relatively very interested in those characters as the characters in comics or animation become differentiated from those of novels or movies. Subsequently, it is expected that the analyzed results of characterizing can be referred to during the production of contents by preparing the results as database.